clean linen

Just watched episode 1 of this Japanese drama serial - really love Satomi Ishihara! The lead actor is NOT handsome AT ALL. But I will still watch this drama BECAUSE of the lead actress! Her character in this show is sooo interesting as well. Can't wait to see how the story develops. I'm gonna be excitedly waiting for each new episode every Thursday. A brief recap of Episode 1 (SPOILER ALERT): We are introduced to Tsukushima Momo (played by Satomi Ishihara), the eldest daughter of the Tsukushima family. She had registered her marriage to a man named Yoshiike Takuma but found out on their wedding day that he had gotten another girl pregnant and so they did not proceed with their wedding ceremony and he effectively dumped her. Since that day, she lost her sense of smell and taste. Occasionally over the next few months after the wedding ceremony that did not take place, like a stalker, she would go to where her ex-fiancee was to see him. She was reported for being a ...

A Japanese drama serial I'm presently watching is Hana Nochi Hare Handan. It's somewhat a spin-off from the F4 series. It is set in the same school, but it's 10 years after F4 and now the school is 'ruled' by C5, which stands for "Correct 5". This is one drama serial that is really getting to me... strangely... Yesterday, its latest episode 10 made me feel so frustrated with the lead actress and so ridiculously sad for the supporting actor, I couldn't sleep. I had to confide in my husband about it and we had a good laugh about how affected I am by it... You see, too often, I like the supporting actor more than the lead actor in a romance drama. I usually just admit defeat and get over it super quickly. I know it is all fictional and at the end of the day, love conquers all and the lead actor and lead actress are totally made for each other. But not in this show. Sigh. The lead actress, Edogawa Oto, and supporting actor, Hase Tenma, grew up...

For awhile now, I have found it EXTREMELY difficult to find a Japanese drama serial that is a romantic comedy. I have always preferred Japanese drama serials for the length, i.e. 9, 10 or 11 episodes. With the short serial length, things move fast, pacing is usually very good, and flashbacks (if any) are always to the point and necessary. But Japanese drama serials have this tendency to end weirdly or in a more "open/hanging" manner that I find most irritating. Otherwise the drama serials are thrillers, action, going-to-school context, adultery, homosexual love... They are emo or they are just really creepy. It is super duper difficult to find a pure romantic comedy. So you can imagine my pleasure at discovering this drama serial that just started airing in Japan. The story line is really cute - about a girl who wants to get married, but is attracted to a guy who absolutely does not want to get married.  I really like that the lead female character is not a tot...

I saw this image on " http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/8-things-you-should-know-about-eating-sushi.html " and think it is such a nice image! So I decided to put it here on my blog with EVERY intention to give credit to www.lifehack.org.

I just finished watching the 10-episode long Japanese drama serial by the name of "Boku to Star no 99 Nichi", translated into English it's something like "99 days of Me and the Star". It was a super enjoyable show and if you are familiar with Korean drama serials, you'll realise that the lead actress in this show is actually a well-known Korean actress! The only other Korean artist in this show is Taecyeon from 2PM, who played the younger brother, a minor role, in the show. The chemistry between all the characters were fantastic. And what surprised me the most was that the 2 Korean artists spoke fluent Japanese! The ending may be considered a little disappointing, but it wasn't all that horrible. I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this show, repeating aloud certain Japanese phrases I could catch. The characters are funny, and it's just heartwarming. The soundtrack is really nice too! SO, IN CONCLUSION: WATCH IT PLEASE!:)

In Japanese: 焼けつくような渇きを覚えながら、私は生きておられる神様を慕っています。どこへ行けば、お目どおりがかなうのでしょうか。 In Romanji: yaketsukuyouna kawakiwo oboenagara, watashiwa ikite orareru kamisamawo shittateimasu. dokoe ikeba, omedooriga kanaunodeshouka. In English: I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

Yesterday, I attended my 3rd lesson at Bunka Language School. I am in the Intermediate-1 class. Having to rush off from work to try to arrive at class by 6:30pm, brisk walking from the MRT station to Delfi Orchard is not fun. But, in the end, I have no choice but to say it's worth it because I'm really enjoying myself. My teacher is a native Japanese who is so engaging and funny. She makes the 3 hours feel like only an hour of lesson has passed. There are 10 other students in my class who are easy to get along with and make the class funnier. It's easier to struggle and stammer along in my broken Japanese because they are struggling and stammering along when it's their turn too. I love learning the language and getting the opportunity to speak it whenever I'm "arrowed" to in class. And I hope that it becomes a language that I can use, in the uncertain only-God-knows-when future, when I get to do something for and in Japan. That something, I have ab...

I'm feeling a bit sad that season 2 of this Japanese drama serial I've been watching has ended. Anyway, how did I come to know of this show? Well, I heard that shows by the actress Ueto Aya are usually quite good. So when I stumbled across season 1 of this show "Zettai Reido" with her as the lead actress, I decided to try it out. In season 1, Ueto Aya's character is a rookie cop. She is in a department who investigates "cold cases" that come back to life when new clues surface some years later. So, the crime may have taken place any time between 5-15 years ago. Then in the present year, something new surfaces that is linked back to that crime that happened so many years ago. Ueto Aya's department is then assigned to re-open the case. Season 1, and also the Special 2-hour episode and Season 2 (which just finished airing in Japan not long ago), shows how the department work together to tackle and completely solve and close each case that comes up. I...

Yesterday, it felt like I was just traveling from place to place. To the airport I left the house at 6:30am to catch bus 53 to the airport to send Julie off. She left for Korea today for exchange. Jien was supposed to be there with me but she completely overslept and didn't turn up. Julie also only arrived at the airport around 7:50am, which wouldn't have been an issue to me if I didn't need to leave the airport by 8am to get to LCP to get documents and then rush down to the Subordinate (Sub) Courts. I hugged Julie twice, said a few sentences, and then I had to leave. No photo or whatever. Just, 2 hugs. I choose to believe that it wasn't a wasted trip down to the airport to see Julie for the last time in awhile. To LCP At 8:05am, I rushed off to take the train to LCP to get some court documents Thomas would need for his trial. I was supposed to be at Sub Courts at 9:10am. I reached LCP around 8:55am, hurriedly rushed to the toilet, unloaded some stuff, grabbed the court...

Have a listen to the Japanese version of "Hakuna Matata" from the Lion King movie. I am very amused by how it sounds because all along I've only listened to the English version of the song. Music Playlist at MixPod.com Here's the English version:)

Friday, 9 April So I stayed up the whole of Thursday night to finish the first draft of my essay. I only went to bed at about 7am on Friday morning, and got woken up at 12 by my maid. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching tv, I think. Basically, it was just slacking around. Unfortunately, it started raining just as I was about to leave the house to head to the MRT station to take the train to Orchard as I was meeting Jolene at Wisma. We wanted to exchange a top at Miss Selfridge, but we weren't allowed to because it was a discounted item - I'LL SAY, WHY DO SINGAPORE STORES NOT ALLOW RETURNS?! Easy online shopping, exchanges and refunds/returns are going to be things I'm going to miss when I leave the UK! We had a simple dinner at Crystal Jade Kitchen, then made our way back to Kovan for cell group... AND I GOT TO EAT ROTI PRATA! Well, I didn't eat an entire roti prata by myself, but I took specifically two bites of Kah Wan's roti pratas - one bite from the ...

3 April, Saturday I arrived in Changi International Airport at about 6pm, waited 20-30 minutes to collect my checked-in baggage (the A380 seats too many people...), then was whisked off with my parents and brother to a Japanese restaurant at Raffles City Shopping Centre called Inagiku. My sister and Edmund met us at the restaurant. We had a great family dinner celebrating my birthday in advance. 4 April, Sunday I didn't sleep well because of jetlag and the absence of a functioning air-conditioner in my room, just relying on a fan. I thought I would be able to cope with that, but my room was just too stuffy, and I think that affected my ability to sleep well. Anyway, I returned to LSBC! It felt good, and yet strange to be back. After lunch, I was standing around with my cell group and I felt weird, even a little out of place, as if I was not supposed to be there, but was supposed to be back in Nottingham instead. For lunch, we went to the Purple Market and I had sugarcane juice, hok...